Former Tigers Top Prospect Sharp in First Injury Rehab Start at Toledo
Casey Mize, a former top prospect of the Detroit Tigers, started his injury rehab assignment on Thursday with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.
Mize, a right-hander, posted a sharp outing against Jacksonville.
The 27-year-old threw 35 pitches in his first outing since June as he allowed no runs and three hits in 2.1 innings. He struck out two and walked one. He also induced two groundouts.
Mize made his last start on June 30 against the Los Angeles Angels, as he threw 5.1 shutout innings to claim the win, as he struck out two and walked two. Mize suffered a left hamstring strain and was moved first to the 15-day injured list and later to the 60-day IL, the latter of which was on July 29 and was more a procedural move to create room on the 40-man roster.
Because he’s on the 60-day injured list, he cannot re-join the Tigers until after the end of the month. But that gives him time to ramp up, as manager A.J. Hinch wants Mize to be able to throw up to 85 pitches when he returns.
Before the injury, he was 2-6 with a 4.23 ERA in 78.2 innings. He struck out 58 and walked 21.
The 2018 first-round pick out of Auburn is still trying to find his footing after he underwent Tommy John surgery after two starts in 2022. He returned at the end of the 2023 season, but this year was supposed to be his first full year at the Major League level since 2021.
That year, he went 7-9 with a 3.71 ERA in 150.1 innings, with 118 strikeouts and 41 walks.
Mize could use a return to the rotation in September to make a claim for a spot in 2025 alongside the staff’s ace, Tarik Skubal. Detroit has a group of young arms that could make a play for the rotation next season, including Ty Madden, Wilmer Flores — who are at Triple-A — along with Keider Montero and Sawyer Gipson-Long, who have made appearances in the Majors.
Mize isn’t the only Tigers Major Leaguer in Toledo for a rehab assignment. Outfielder Kerry Carpenter started his on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old started in right field on Thursday night for the Mud Hens, as he went 0-for-3 with a strikeouts as he batted leadoff.
He was the designated hitter in his first game on Tuesday, as he went 1-for-4 and struck out twice. He did not play in Wednesday’s game, so Thursday was his first game in the field. The Tigers hope to have him back sometime this month.
The Tigers lost Carpenter in late May after he was diagnosed with a lumbar spine stress fracture, an injury that landed him on the 60-day injured list.
That was a significant hit to Detroit’s offense, as the third-year player was having a potential career-best season with a slash line of .283/.342/.572/.914 with eight home runs and 29 RBI in 50 games.
MATT POSTINS